One of the best freeware side-scrolling shooters in recent memory, Hornado is a well-designed, very pretty side-scrolling shooter that harks back to the good old days of Gradius and similar classics. Rocket Download says it all about this freeware underdog:

"It's a pure arcade game where you control your fighter with a keyboard or joystick. The program's fine 32-bit graphics provides some new twists to this genre, but maintains the intensity that made the classic versions great. You'll encounter all kinds of enemies and obstacles throughout eight levels. Indeed, Hornado has you battling in many kinds of environments, not just in space. In one level you'll be fighting in an industrial complex while in another you'll have to engage aliens deep inside a futuristic sea.

Hornado is exceptionally hard to master because the fighter is larger in size compared to other games. It's particularly tough navigating through tight enclosures, where swarms of enemies attack from all directions. You'll have to truly multi-task; if you don't get blasted by an alien you'll surely wipe out on overhanging obstacles. You'll occasionally snatch bonuses that upgrade your weapons. This is key, because your primary shooter does nothing to get you out of trouble. Another important note is that the game doesn't support rapid firing, meaning that each shot is fired individually. This causes weapons to fire slowly, and certainly causes your trigger finger to become numb. Are you up to the challenge?" It plays great, looks sharp, and will keep you up far too late into the night -- everything you could ever want in an arcade game. Two thumbs up, and well worth the hefty 18MB download!